The present invention consists of a vascular prosthesis for the substitution or internal lining of blood vessels of medium and large diameter and of a device for its application.
Aneurysms of various origin and traumatic lesions are the most frequent conditions requiring thoracic and abdominal aortic prosthetic substitution. Current techniques include the surgical exposure of the aortic segment to be replaced; both ends of the aneurysm are isolated and clamped to stop the blood flow; the vessel is opened and a tubular conduit of biocompatible material is interposed and manually sutured at both ends.
Most complications of descending thoracic aorta prosthetic substitution (paraplegia, liver and renal injury) are due to ischemic lesion of distal organs (spinal cord, liver and kidney) during the blood flow interruption phase and the incidence is proportional to the duration of said phase. Other complications are related to the manoeuvres taken to compensate the haemodynamic modifications induced by clamping (extracorporeal circulation, heparinization, etc.).
A further source of complications is the suture line which can bleed at the operative table or cause pseudoaneurysm in the late postoperative period; these problems are enhanced by alterations of the aortic wall due to the primary disease.